In the Grandiose Parlor…

After experiencing some 14 days of nice tropical weather, and interesting circumstances peculiar to the Nigerian nation, I’m back to the frozen tundra state of Minnesota, in North America – a not so pleasant transition weather-wise: from 85 degree F to subzero temperatures. This is enough to make even the most ardent and optimistic blogger shut down, and I did just that. I want out of the cold! Nigeria will always be home, that is the truth.

There are some many stories to tell. First, if you are one of the several Nigerians with the phased-out passport, you must have this changed ASAP. If those overseas can get it changed from their embassies abroad – without incurring significant charges – please go this route. Otherwise, be ready to invest some days navigating the bureaucratic maze of the passport control offices in Nigeria.

I had mine changed in Lagos, and even though the process has been drastically computerized and streamlined – with fewer touts running the show, and even fewer bribe-seeking immigration officials, a very commendable improvement from what it used to be – a lot can still be done to improve the process and respect the dignities of the applicants, and also minimize the time invested, or wasted, in the process. It simply doesn’t make any sense investing a whole working day (at least) into getting/renewing a travel document. Time is money, but it always appears that this doesn’t count very much when dealing with Nigerian bureaucracies.

In subsequent writings, I will attempt to address the comments/questions raised in the preceding post(s) and offer more narratives/opinion on my journey. Thanks guys! While it sure feels good to have access to the conveniences of life, once again – computer/broadband Internet, constant electricity, orderliness, etc, the ‘temperature differential’ erodes the advantages of these goodies, well, at least for the time being.

As the airplane was hovering over the frozen mass of the city before it landed, I wondered if circumstances in Sub-Saharan Africa would have be more positive if there exist a freeze-and-thaw weather cycle – the kind unique to north Europe and America? Hmmm!

“Sub-Saharan Africa is home to barely one-sixth of the world’s children younger than 15, but fully half the world’s uneducated children — the legacy of poverty, colonialism and historically inadequate schools,” according to a recent article by the International Herald Tribune (Education Blossoms in sub-Saharan Africa). The majority of this uneducated children are girls, and this is one of the reasons Winfrey Oprah partly bankrolled the Oprah’s Leadership Academy in South Africa, a $40 million educational institute built for girls in South Africa. The school stated its calender year on January 2, 2007.

According to Oprah: “The school will teach girls to be the best human beings they can ever be; it will train them to become decision-makers and leaders; it will be a model school for the rest of the world.” Eligible candidates must be gifted and from impoverished backgrounds.

This is an impressive gesture by any standard, and a head-scratcher as well: $40 million for a high school? Isn’t this an overkill? Could this cash be better leveraged than just investing on some 450 gifted students the school will produce every year? Hey, 40 million dollars is a ton of money and goodwill; it’s all good! Some are already starting the year on the right note.

Related articles:

Oprah’s Academy to Inspire Needy Girls

How much does a free education cost?

African Leadership Academy

Charity begins at home. Check out Emeka Okafor’s One Million African Lives Initiative- which aims to “save 1 million lives in sub-Sahara Africa over the next 5 years by reducing the number of HIV-infected blood transfusions given to patients and increasing number of voluntary non-remunerated blood donors”.

[tag]Emeka Okafor[/tag] is a Nigerian-American basketball star, and 2005 NBA Rookie of the Year. The initiative is a collaboration between him and the Safe Blood for Africa Foundation, a leading international non-profit organization working with 34 sub-Saharan African countries,

[tag]AIDS[/tag], [tag]HIV[/tag] Photo:NBA

Continuing the thread of an earlier post, blogging and activism, a new blogging initiative: “We blog for Darfur” – launched by Drima, an African blogger at Sudanese Thinker, and some Middle Eastern bloggers – aims to shed more light on the events in Darfur. Drima, is a Sudanese student in South East Asia whose eight month blogging stint has been impressive. In an introductory post, he writes:

“The Arab media is a shame… a real shame. Why is there hardly anything on Darfur? Why? Is it because the victims are a bunch of “blackie darkies”?…The Mideast Youth bunch and I have taken in it upon ourselves to spread awareness throughout the blogosphere since the media hardly seems to care. Maybe they’ll actually start picking up more stories and reporting more about Darfur.”

The African media equally sucks! It might not be a bad idea to expand their coverage into the African blogosphere as well. After all, that is the place the events are unfolding, not Asia. Besides, it appears the awareness level is as low in Africa as in the Middle East, if not worse:

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Culled From EthnicLoft. An excellent display of blogospheric activism!
Sokari of Black Looks has a post on the racial discrimination and disrespect accorded the kenyan author – Professor Ngugi Wa Thiong’o while staying at Hotel Vitale in San Francisco area several days back. If you are wondering who the heck Ngugi is, check his profile on Wikipedia.

Jeremy of Naijablog did a follow-up of the event by contacting the hotel, as suggested by Sokari, and got a response from the hotel management. A comprehensive one for that matter!

The hotel management has promised to find a “mutually-acceptable means of making amends”, and this “include a public apology ad in a local newspaper, a donation to an anti-racism local non-profit, and deeper anti-racism training of staff (beyond just normal diversity training).”

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Keith Ellison is the first black member of the US House of Representatives from the state of [tag]Minnesota[/tag]. Better still, Ellision is the first American Muslim congressman. Keith, a democrat from the fifth congressional district of Minnesota, did what seemed impossible at a time Islamic fundamentalists have brought shame and disrepute to Islam and all Muslims worldwide. And he did win the election without airing any radio or TV political advertisement. He kept his campaign positive and clean.

The recently concluded midterm elections would go down in American history as one of the most expensive, and the most adversarial and sleazy, in terms of political ads and media campaign that is. However, Ellison chose a different style, that of grassroots and old fashioned politics. And this wins him my admiration and respect, even if I do not fully subscribe to his political orientation.

As ground-breaking as [tag]Keith Ellison[/tag] victory is, one has to see beyond the man and his religion. His victory is about substance, value and building “bridges between communities rather than trying to divide and conquer.”

Ellison states in post-victory radio interview: 

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In America, very few Africans have been able to build beneficial relationships with other African immigrants, particularly those of different nationality, tribe or religion. Our social circle hardly extend beyond that those that speak our native languages or share our religious orientation. Several don’t even have a professional network, and for those that do, their interactions within the network follow the same pattern.

Although Africans are not as homogenous as Indians, I can’t help but refer to this BusinessWeek article: Are Indians the Model Immigrant? Though somewhat dated, it highlights the level and extent of mutually beneficial relationships that exist between Indians in America. And they are better for because it. Can the same be said of Africans in America?

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